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UK extends 28-day pre-charge detention
[Al Arabiya Latest] The government extended 28-day detention without trial for terrorism suspects for six months on Thursday but said both coalition parties want to reduce that limit, which is fiercely opposed by civil libertarians."The government has today laid an order to renew the existing 28-day maximum period of pre-charge detention for a time-limited period of six months," Home Secretary Theresa May said in a statement. The 28-day detention measure must be renewed annually or it expires. "It is vital that we support the police and other agencies in their work to keep us safe from terrorism ... At the same time ... we are also committed to safeguarding the rights and liberties of the public," May said. She said pre-charge detention would be included in a review of counter-terrorism legislation ordered by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition. The review is due to report to parliament in the autumn. "Both parties in the coalition are clear that the 28-day maximum period should be a temporary measure and one that we will be looking to reduce over time," May said. Civil rights group Liberty urged the coalition to reduce the 28-day ceiling and called for the scrapping of "control orders," a type of house arrest which has formed a central plank of Britain's counter-terrorism measures in recent years. "The coalition has bound itself together with the language of civil liberties. Now it must reduce the longest pre-charge detention period of any Western democracy," said Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti. Posted by: Fred 2010-06-25 |
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